Wellness trends come and go, but the array of wellness breaks and treatments available range from meaningful experiences to soothe your mind to taking care of your body or pure relaxation.

Technology and wellness
Technology refines and enhances our travel experience, creating a smaller, more accessible world but conversely one that we sometimes want to escape from hence the continued rise of digital detox breaks. Some hotels and spas even have a Smartphone Crèche while some don’t provide Wi-Fi access unless guests request it. Silent spas are a growing trend, from special quiet areas to becoming a noiseless retreat for just one ‘silent’ night.

Eco and sustainable wellness
In our desire to find peace and rejuvenation we don’t just think of ourselves but are also mindful of the environment. Eco and sustainable retreats offer educational eco-forest walks, all-natural spa remedies and healthy organic cuisine from onsite gardens. Personalised Ayurveda treatments have become very popular in Europe, the UK and Asia. Using nutrition, yoga, breathing techniques and meditation means they are naturally kind to both us and the environment.

You are what you eat
So-called clean-eating, in the sense of eating non-processed foods, and less dramatic, more sustainable changes in our eating habits replace extreme detoxes. New-era wellness retreats shy away from the quick-fix drastic measures instead offering healthy cooking classes and organic produce. Specialist diets available at nutrition friendly retreats offer plant-based or meat-free menus, which suit the growing number of vegan or vegetarians among us. For allergy sufferers, yeast-free and sugar-free diets tend to be available, there are even specialist gluten-free retreats.

Come together
And finally, family wellness retreats are a growing and popular trend. Families can bond on relaxing breaks and parents keen to prize iPads and smartphones from their offspring can do so. Increasing numbers of spas, most notably in Europe, offer specific children’s treatments or areas where families can swim, steam and sauna in a safe and family-friendly environment.

And breathe!

Jo Fernandez is a leading UK travel journalist, with much of her career spent working for the London Evening Standard where she was Travel Editor until 2015.
Now a freelance travel journalist and copywriter, she lives in Essex and has one daughter. As a travel expert, she still enjoys jetting off to write travel pieces, with favourite destinations including Mexico, Croatia and, of course, Essex.

The post Wellness trends in 2017 appeared first on Neals Yard Holidays Blog.

Are you looking for green holidays that also offer yoga?

We have a number of green holidays and eco retreats that collect rainwater, compost organic waste, conserve endangered flora and fauna and use eco-friendly cleaning products. All of our green holidays also offer the creature comforts you desire. Here’s an overview of Neal’s Yard Holidays’ most ecological retreats.

And for your next trip we’ve also got some green travel tips for you – for where ever you’ll be going.

Green travel tips

Don’t forget to be as green as possible on your holiday. Here are our top tips:

Act respectfully: make an effort to learn something about the local culture and language; dress respectfully; ask people before taking a picture of them, or their children or home.

Bargain politely for goods and services and pay a fair price.

Buy local and support the local economy. Never buy products made from endangered animals or plants.

Conserve water and energy: ask for your towels to be washed less often; switch off lights and air conditioning when you leave your room.

Consider recycling: leave your product packaging at home; bring back certain items such as batteries so they can be recycled safely.

Give any gifts or money to a local school or worthy project rather than encourage begging.

Leave no trace: when trekking or hiking, don’t leave any rubbish and collect any that you see; bring your own shopping bag to discourage the use of plastic bags as they often end up in the sea killing marine life and can create problems on land too. Bring your own re-usable water bottle instead of plastic bottles.

Offset your carbon emissions? Offsetting is not the whole answer to climate change but can play a role, see our Environmental Policy for further info.
You can offset your car, train or plane journeys via the charity AtmosFair

Tread lightly: don’t pick flowers and plants or collect pebbles and seashells.

When back home, consider supporting an organisation that works for the environment, people or wildlife of the country you have just enjoyed.

Also see this page for keeping beaches clean and safe. It includes advice that can help clean up the environment and save the lives of sea creatures.

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